More concentration in agriculture
From the Business Day (Link)
"THE merger between seed breeders Pannar Seed and DuPont Pioneer will go ahead, several months after the prohibition by the Competition Tribunal was overturned by the Competition Appeal Court, Pioneer said at the weekend.
The Supreme Court of Appeal rejected an application by the Competition Commission, which sought leave to appeal the decision by the Competition Appeal Court to overturn the prohibition.
Pioneer president Paul Schickler said last week the company was committed to long-term investment in SA to enhance productivity and food security for SA and the continent.
The merged entity has committed R62m by 2017 for the development of a regional centre that will bring advanced research and development technologies to Africa. Another R20m has been earmarked for the assistance of small-scale and developing farmers in SA.
The commission and the tribunal prohibited the merger last year, stating that it would take Pannar out of the seed market, leaving only two international players, Pioneer and Monsanto. However, the merging parties appealed to the Competition Appeal Court, which overturned the tribunal’s prohibition.
The court had also held that the tribunal’s approach ran "the danger of placing too much emphasis upon the interests of competitors rather than upon the key principle of maintaining or promoting competition in the relevant market"."
